The 1870 marriage of
Bertha Honore and Potter Palmer united two of the wealthiest and most influential
families of 19th century Chicago. Both were strong-willed individualists
who used their economic power and social positions to carry out their personal
visions.

Potter Palmers
contributions to Chicago were aggressively entrepreneurial. In 1852, he
opened a high-quality dry-goods store that later became the famed Marshall
Fields department store. After retiring from the dry-goods business
in 1865, he speculated in Chicago real estate and was singularly responsible
for establishing State Street as Chicagos principal retail thoroughfare.
Rebuilt three times, the Palmer House hotel has been a landmark for more
than 125 years.

Bertha Honore Palmer
leveraged her position as a respected leader of Chicago society to advance
reform and feminist causes. She was a strong advocate of womens rights
and actively worked to have the diverse achievements of women fully represented
at the 1893 Worlds Columbian Exposition. Mrs. Palmer also was an astute
art collector and many of the Art Institutes Impressionist paintings
once were part of her personal collection.